This project pushed me to understand how schools in different areas of the state face a variety of issues from socioeconomic struggles, academic struggles and a diverse population. The district I grew up attending and graduated from, the Kimberly Area School District, had very few of these issues and challenges. That’s not to say that everything was perfect, but certainly different in the sense that these different challenges and issues were not as present. Kimberly’s population is made up of almost 90% white students, with about 15%-20% of the total population being socioeconomically disadvantaged, and a majority of the population meeting or exceeding academic expectations. When this is the environment I grew up in, I begin to think that all or most schools will be something like this or at least similar. When I went into this project studying the Milwaukee area south of I-94, I knew that it would certainly be different than a district like Kimberly. However, I did not think it was going to be as different as it was. The pie chart below represents the racial and ethnical divide across public schools specifically in the West Allis area of Milwaukee:
While this district still has the highest percentage of white students, there is still a rather fair percentage of students coming from other ethnicities. With populations of this diversity level, it is difficult to supply staff members that are able to reflect the backgrounds of these students. There are also the social struggles with students of different backgrounds wondering if they fit in, if they are different from everyone else, etc. The work I did with this project really brought issues like that to light for me, partly because I came from a district where diversity was not an issue, as a vast majority of the students were white. And it brings to light that this is not just a challenge in this district, but there is a great chance that it is seen in other districts as well.
The ethnic and racial diversity is not the only struggle in this district. Specifically in the West Allis district, almost 75% of the students came from economically challenged households. That means that almost 3 in every 4 students came from a low-income or financially struggling home. This also means that there is a great probability that some of these students might not even know where some of their upcoming meals are going to come from, if they will be able to always have clean clothes, and maybe even if they will certainly have a place to sleep that night. All of these stresses on a student of any age is almost certain to impact their performance in school, because all of these worries are happening in the back of their mind is going to be a distraction from their academic work. This was evident in the schools I studied in this project because some of them had below average test scores. I learned that this is also a major issue facing many students in America’s schools today, and is another obstacle in their way in trying to perform well academically.
All in all, this project certainly broadened my understand of what the issues are that students have to face. In my childhood and attending school over the years, I didn’t see many of these issues and when I did see them they weren’t heavily present. I wasn’t exposed to what these issues and challenges looked like, but at least now through my work with this project that they are here and they have a major impact on students. It has opened my eyes up to reality and that school districts such as the one I grew up in is not the norm.
